The Woodland League Forestry Promotion Project was designed by Andrew St Ledger prior to his untimely passing in 2023. Andrew invested many years contributing to forestry policy especially in the area of agroforestry. The Forestry Promotion Projects are funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) under the Forestry Programme 2023-27. This funding has provided significant opportunities to forestry organisations, individual foresters and people interested in the sector to develop their own initiatives for promoting forestry.
The promotion projects focus on Sustainable Forest Management and highlight the benefits of sustainably managed timber and timber products in order to encourage farmers and other landowners to plant trees on their land. Andrew was very passionate about delivering this project which included collaborations with fellow Woodland League directors Pat Mc Inerney and Pete Beaumont. With the support of DAFM Pat Mc Inerney has taken on the management of the project and is remaining true to Andrew’s objectives.
The project was designed to Promote productive forestry and the benefits of increased use of timber products in construction and design, in the context of climate action and the bioeconomy. The overarching aim of the project is to support farmers, landowners and all interested participants to explore the multiple benefits of forestry including long term economic return from agroforestry and sustainably managed woodlands.
The Woodland League launched the project on the 20th of April this year with a wonderful greenwood workshop hosted by Pete Beaumont in his woodland in Co Clare and was followed by a second workshop in May. Pete’s depth of knowledge of flora and fauna and his continuing use of a coppice system in his woodland made for a rich and most enjoyable learning experience. The immersive demonstrations of greenwood working facilitated by the tutors on the day offered us a hands-on experience of making and crafting. Pete will be hosting two more workshops in September and October.
Greenwood Workshop, Clonlara Co Clare, 20th April 2024
The project has also included field trips, with visits to farms and woodlands that have offered us invaluable insights to sustainable woodland management practices. Our visit to Michael O’ Donoghue in Cree, Co Clare opened with a demonstration on the use of compact alpine machinery for low-impact woodland management and was followed by a farm walk with discussion on how to manage trees on this exposed coastal site. Michael adopts a ‘close to nature’ management strategy in his woodland which reflects his deep love and respect for nature.
Low Impact Woodland Management, Cree, Co Clare, 7th June 2024
Love and respect for trees and nature has been a most welcome and common thread running through all of the events hosted so far in this project and was most apparent in our visit with Ragna and Baptiste on Cloontabonnive Farm in Connolly, Co Clare. They have put a tremendous effort into restoring the land and creating different habitats through agroforestry, native woodland planting, shelter belts and hedgerows as well as protecting those already in existence.
The field trip focused on a neighbouring Sitka spruce plantation with a talk led by forester Martin O’ Shea and farmer Ragna Gruendler who shared how they collaborated to establish a nature sensitive approach to the management of this IForUT forestry site. Due to the proximity of the site to the Inagh river the management plan mitigated against silt runoff by creating a wetland area, two ponds, and adopting a lower impact approach by not mounding and draining before replanting. The entire circumference of the plantation now has a setback of no trees followed by a native tree belt consisting of 6000 trees. This field trip really illustrated the importance of gaining knowledge of best practice with regard to forestry management and taking proactive roles in supporting such practices in our own woodlands and reaching out to influence those in neighbouring sites to best serve the local ecology and environment.
Cloontabonnive, Connolly, Co Clare, 9th June 2024
The last field trip was hosted by Pat Mc Inerney on Ballinakil Organic farm in Tulla, Co Clare The event had a number of varied and interlinked themes with speakers presenting on agroforestry and the ash die back reconstitution scheme, close to nature woodland management and continuous cover forestry practices, integrating food forests into farmland and Local landscape Partnership and Integrated Landscape Management.
Ballinakil Organic Farm, Tulla, Co Clare, 21st June 2024
All of the field trips to date have evolved into open forums for knowledge exchange and in-depth discussions on issues that individual farmers and woodland owners managing their woodlands are encountering as they work towards sustainable practices with particular emphasis on access to appropriate machinery, expertise and labour to support this work. The forestry promotion project is ongoing and the following outlines the events that are coming up in September and October.
The events are open to all and we invite you to register for events by emailing thewoodlandleague@gmail.com.
For all event details follow this link> https://www.woodlandleague.org/woodland-events-autumn-2024/
Funded by The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
